Can I double pitch instead of using a starter?

[Bungarian]

I am new to brewing. Can I just use double the liquid yeast instead of a starter? Want to keep it simple the first few batches.

 

[jonbomb]

I was wondering the same thing. Some recipes on here call for two vials of yeast instead of a starter...

 

[Shooter]

Yes, that would work fine.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Yes.

(10 chars)

 

[SumnerH]

Yeah. 2 packs is about the right amount for 1.050 OG, and probably good enough up to 1.065 OG or so.

I did a starter for my first brew, and it was kind of a nice opportunity to get familiar with the stickiness of DME and mixing it up before I was in the throes of a full-on brew day, and served as a heads up that chilling even a small starter takes a fair bit of time.

But keeping things simple has its merits, too. Another option is to go with a beer that uses a good dry yeast (there are tons of good options that come out well with Safale US-05, for instance).

 

[jonbomb]

What about mixing two yeasts. A dry and Liquid??!?! maybe two with the same characteristics??

 

[barrog]

You shouldn't need to pitch dry and liqued together. The cell count in dry is enough by itself. Although people repitch with dry if there was a very long secendary and they want to make sure their bottles carb...

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yes. It's just not very economical in the long run. Dry yeast, however, can counter that at a sacrfice to selection.

 

[DocBrown]

Mr. Malty's calculator will give you a good idea of how many packets/vials of yeast you need to pitch with and without a starter.

 

[BeerJorge]

Yes, I have pitched up to 3 packs for big beers... but damn that's an expensive way to brew!!!